Roger Lewis – The Crisis of Hezekiah – Class 6 – The Sequel and The Cipher

1
00:00:24,820 –> 00:00:28,260
Brothers and sisters, we are
ready to begin the third class.

2
00:00:29,020 –> 00:00:32,020
Our speaker is Brother Rodger
Lewis, and the theme for Brother

3
00:00:32,020 –> 00:00:37,660
Lewis’s classes this week is The
Crisis of Hezekiah, and today’s

4
00:00:37,660 –> 00:00:41,340
class is entitled The Sequel and
The Sefer.

5
00:00:59,840 –> 00:01:02,800
Well, thank you, brother
Chairman, and good morning this

6
00:01:02,800 –> 00:01:06,880
last final morning, my dear
brothers and sisters.

7
00:01:11,440 –> 00:01:19,080
So our tale is told, at least as
far as the story itself permits

8
00:01:19,080 –> 00:01:24,520
us to see.
Because Eyes Are 36 to 39 was

9
00:01:24,520 –> 00:01:30,040
the gripping account of a king
in crisis, a record of personal

10
00:01:30,040 –> 00:01:34,080
drama that’s full of personal
excitation for ourselves as we

11
00:01:34,080 –> 00:01:38,440
face the trials of life that we
also experience in walking

12
00:01:38,440 –> 00:01:43,040
before our God.
But as is the case with all of

13
00:01:43,040 –> 00:01:47,120
Scripture, we realize as we read
that there must be more to the

14
00:01:47,120 –> 00:01:51,760
story than meets the eye.
These chapters are clearly not

15
00:01:51,800 –> 00:01:56,240
accidental in their design, and
they’re certainly not arbitrary

16
00:01:56,240 –> 00:01:58,800
in their placement.
In fact, everything about them

17
00:01:58,800 –> 00:02:01,840
suggests a precise order of
arrangement, a deliberate

18
00:02:02,080 –> 00:02:08,840
intention of purpose.
So why did Isaiah put them where

19
00:02:08,840 –> 00:02:15,840
he did in his prophecy?
And what did he really want us

20
00:02:15,840 –> 00:02:27,760
to learn from the dramatic story
of Isaiah 36 to 39?

21
00:02:29,880 –> 00:02:34,360
What was it that he really
intended us to understand?

22
00:02:37,200 –> 00:02:41,640
So the time has come for us to
investigate is is our title,

23
00:02:41,640 –> 00:02:48,120
therefore for this morning, the
sequel now to this story and the

24
00:02:48,120 –> 00:02:53,520
cipher that might contain.
Now that word cipher is an

25
00:02:53,520 –> 00:02:56,200
interesting one because it’s
obviously connected to the word

26
00:02:56,280 –> 00:03:02,480
decipher, by the way, and here’s
a set of definition of meanings

27
00:03:02,480 –> 00:03:07,400
of that word.
The Merriam Webster Dictionary

28
00:03:07,400 –> 00:03:12,400
says that it’s a method of
transforming a text in order to

29
00:03:12,400 –> 00:03:17,040
conceal its meaning.
The Oxford Dictionary says it’s

30
00:03:17,040 –> 00:03:21,600
a secret or disguised way of
writing, as in code.

31
00:03:22,920 –> 00:03:25,560
The Britannica dictionary says
it’s a way of changing a message

32
00:03:25,560 –> 00:03:30,360
to keep it secret.
And the Collins Dictionary says

33
00:03:30,360 –> 00:03:34,080
it’s a system of secret writing
according to a key.

34
00:03:34,280 –> 00:03:38,840
So you notice the crucial words
both the word conceal and the

35
00:03:38,840 –> 00:03:41,560
word secret.
Now, interestingly, they’re both

36
00:03:41,840 –> 00:03:44,000
thoroughly biblical expressions,
are they not?

37
00:03:44,000 –> 00:03:49,080
Because Proverbs 25 verse 2 says
it’s the glory of God to conceal

38
00:03:49,160 –> 00:03:52,440
a word, but the honor of kings
is to search out a word.

39
00:03:52,720 –> 00:03:56,920
Amos 3 verse 7 says surely the
Lord God will do nothing, but he

40
00:03:56,920 –> 00:04:00,600
revealeth his secret unto his
servants.

41
00:04:00,760 –> 00:04:06,200
So God uses codes and ciphers,
God suit uses secrets embedded

42
00:04:06,200 –> 00:04:09,760
in his message so that the
unholy and the profane and the

43
00:04:09,800 –> 00:04:13,440
arrogant and the boastful and
the prayer do not see those

44
00:04:13,480 –> 00:04:17,000
secret treasures that he’s
hidden beneath the surface of

45
00:04:17,000 –> 00:04:20,519
the word.
They’re discovered only by those

46
00:04:20,519 –> 00:04:24,640
who come with that spirit of
humility to try and understand

47
00:04:24,640 –> 00:04:26,240
what the Father would have us to
know.

48
00:04:26,360 –> 00:04:29,920
And so in that spirit, brothers
and sisters, we come to our

49
00:04:30,120 –> 00:04:34,440
final study this morning that we
might search out the cipher and

50
00:04:34,440 –> 00:04:38,160
unlock the deeper meaning of the
crisis of his a car.

51
00:04:39,840 –> 00:04:42,520
Now the first thing I’d like to
draw your attention to, as we

52
00:04:42,520 –> 00:04:46,280
have read these chapters, did
you notice how closely they

53
00:04:46,280 –> 00:04:52,160
stand related in time?
This is how Isaiah 36 begins.

54
00:04:53,520 –> 00:04:58,000
Now, it came to pass in the 14th
year of King Hezekiah that

55
00:04:58,000 –> 00:05:00,000
Sennacherib, king of Assyria,
came up against you.

56
00:05:00,000 –> 00:05:02,040
Of course, he sent Rab Shaker,
didn’t he, with a threatening

57
00:05:02,040 –> 00:05:04,920
message to try and coerce them
into submission.

58
00:05:05,200 –> 00:05:08,960
And that message was delivered
subsequently by the deputies to

59
00:05:08,960 –> 00:05:13,200
Hezekiah himself.
It came to pass in the 14th

60
00:05:13,200 –> 00:05:16,040
year.
But do you know how the next

61
00:05:16,040 –> 00:05:19,000
chapter begins?
Chapter 37 verse one says.

62
00:05:19,000 –> 00:05:21,000
And it came to pass when King
Hezekiah heard it.

63
00:05:21,000 –> 00:05:23,040
Heard what?
Heard the threatening message of

64
00:05:23,040 –> 00:05:25,760
chapter 36.
How soon do you think in time

65
00:05:26,040 –> 00:05:29,000
does Isaiah 37 come after Isaiah
36?

66
00:05:29,000 –> 00:05:32,480
And the answer is at exactly the
same time on the same day.

67
00:05:34,600 –> 00:05:41,040
How does chapter 38 begin?
In those days?

68
00:05:41,960 –> 00:05:43,640
Was Hezekiah second to death?
What days?

69
00:05:43,640 –> 00:05:45,720
The days of the Assyrian
invasion, The days of

70
00:05:45,720 –> 00:05:48,880
Sennacherib and Rab Shaker being
present in the land in those

71
00:05:48,880 –> 00:05:53,080
days.
How closely connected in time do

72
00:05:53,080 –> 00:05:55,880
you think Isaiah 38 is with the
two that have preceded it?

73
00:05:55,880 –> 00:05:57,440
The answers, They’re very
closely connected.

74
00:05:57,440 –> 00:05:59,840
Do you know how chapter 39
begins?

75
00:06:01,240 –> 00:06:07,640
At that time, Miradak Baladdin
sent letters in a present to

76
00:06:07,640 –> 00:06:08,720
Hezekiah.
What time?

77
00:06:08,800 –> 00:06:11,120
The time of his sickness, the
time of his recovery, the time

78
00:06:11,120 –> 00:06:13,040
of the overthrow of the
Assyrians.

79
00:06:13,120 –> 00:06:16,160
It’s all at the same time.
So the first thing we notice in

80
00:06:16,160 –> 00:06:19,640
this particular sequence of
chapters is the tightness of the

81
00:06:19,640 –> 00:06:21,320
time frame.
There’s something being

82
00:06:21,320 –> 00:06:24,920
compressed together here.
The entire section is actually

83
00:06:24,920 –> 00:06:27,360
focused on a very, very brief
period.

84
00:06:28,640 –> 00:06:32,440
It’s all going to happen in a
very short timeline in the

85
00:06:32,440 –> 00:06:33,640
King’s life.
How short?

86
00:06:33,640 –> 00:06:37,920
Well, Hezekiah sat on the throne
for almost 30 years, but this

87
00:06:37,920 –> 00:06:41,280
story in Isaiah and these 4
chapters is going to be

88
00:06:41,280 –> 00:06:45,200
compressed into probably no more
than 18 months and possibly less

89
00:06:45,200 –> 00:06:48,160
than that again right at the
middle of his reign.

90
00:06:49,720 –> 00:06:54,360
Now, why do we need to know
about just these 18 months?

91
00:06:55,160 –> 00:06:59,000
Why a period of time?
Incidentally, that represents no

92
00:06:59,000 –> 00:07:02,760
more than 5% of Hezekiah’s time
as a king.

93
00:07:04,120 –> 00:07:07,160
But Isaiah says you must know
about this section, and the

94
00:07:07,160 –> 00:07:11,720
answer must be because in that
brief stretch of time, events

95
00:07:11,720 –> 00:07:18,640
occurred which contained a
hidden message that was directly

96
00:07:19,080 –> 00:07:23,880
related to the purpose of
Isaiah’s prophecy.

97
00:07:25,800 –> 00:07:28,000
And that leads us to the next
question, which relates to their

98
00:07:28,000 –> 00:07:30,640
positioning, because not only
were these events in the middle

99
00:07:30,640 –> 00:07:33,760
of Hezekiah’s reign, but where
will Isaiah put them?

100
00:07:33,920 –> 00:07:36,840
He’ll put them in the very
middle of his book.

101
00:07:38,840 –> 00:07:42,720
So the first part of Isaiah’s
prophecy runs from chapter 1 to

102
00:07:42,720 –> 00:07:47,880
chapter 35, and then he suddenly
breaks off, and the second part

103
00:07:47,880 –> 00:07:50,320
of his prophecy will not
commence until Isaiah 40 through

104
00:07:50,320 –> 00:07:53,160
to Isaiah 66.
But in between those two

105
00:07:53,160 –> 00:07:56,520
prophetic sections, he suddenly
inserts these four chapters

106
00:07:56,520 –> 00:08:00,480
where he stops being a prophet,
becomes an historical writer.

107
00:08:01,440 –> 00:08:04,120
So why was the drama of Hezekiah
inserted at this point?

108
00:08:04,120 –> 00:08:05,440
Why not somewhere else in the
book?

109
00:08:06,600 –> 00:08:09,440
Well, the answer is because the
crisis of Hezekiah was going to

110
00:08:09,440 –> 00:08:13,840
form the pivot upon which the
rest of all his Isaiah’s book

111
00:08:13,840 –> 00:08:18,520
was going to be hinged.
Now, let me just show you that

112
00:08:18,520 –> 00:08:22,320
in terms of the narrative, and
just imagine for a moment that

113
00:08:22,320 –> 00:08:24,560
we don’t have the crisis of
Hezekiah sitting in the middle

114
00:08:24,720 –> 00:08:27,960
chapters 36 to 39.
This is how Isaiah would read,

115
00:08:28,080 –> 00:08:31,080
or how it would read across from
the first section of the book to

116
00:08:31,080 –> 00:08:34,840
the second if we were to look at
the flow of the narrative.

117
00:08:36,440 –> 00:08:39,039
Now, you’ll all know these words
in Isaiah 35 because they’re

118
00:08:39,039 –> 00:08:40,559
famous.
It talks about the wilderness

119
00:08:40,559 –> 00:08:42,200
and the desert blossoming like
the Rose.

120
00:08:42,200 –> 00:08:45,480
Remember those words?
But do you know that that same 2

121
00:08:45,480 –> 00:08:48,920
explosion, same 2 expressions
are found in chapter 40 verse 3,

122
00:08:48,920 –> 00:08:51,200
in the wilderness and in the
desert?

123
00:08:53,440 –> 00:08:57,960
Same words.
And what about Isaiah 35 verse

124
00:08:57,960 –> 00:08:59,720
2?
They shall see the glory of

125
00:08:59,720 –> 00:09:03,560
Yahweh says Isaiah 35.
But Isaiah 40 verse 5 says The

126
00:09:03,560 –> 00:09:06,520
glory of Yahweh shall be
revealed, and all flesh shall

127
00:09:06,560 –> 00:09:14,360
see it together.
Same thing what about Isaiah 35

128
00:09:14,360 –> 00:09:16,880
verse four?
Say to them, Behold, your God

129
00:09:16,880 –> 00:09:19,840
will come.
It says, but that’s Isaiah

130
00:09:19,840 –> 00:09:22,480
chapter 40, isn’t it?
Verses 9 and 10 say unto Judah,

131
00:09:22,480 –> 00:09:29,200
Behold, your God will come.
In Isaiah 35 verse 8 it says,

132
00:09:29,320 –> 00:09:32,600
and the highway shall be there,
and the redeemed shall walk

133
00:09:32,600 –> 00:09:34,640
therein.
But isn’t that the highway

134
00:09:34,640 –> 00:09:36,440
referred to in Isaiah 40 verse
three?

135
00:09:36,440 –> 00:09:39,840
Make straight in the desert a
highway for our God.

136
00:09:41,720 –> 00:09:45,080
And when it says in Isaiah 35
verse 10, the ransom of Yahweh

137
00:09:45,080 –> 00:09:47,840
shall come, they shall come to
Zion with songs.

138
00:09:48,080 –> 00:09:52,080
Isn’t that chapter 40 verse 9, O
thou that tell us good tidings

139
00:09:52,960 –> 00:09:56,920
to Zion?
Now, you see, without the

140
00:09:56,920 –> 00:10:00,520
historical insertion, don’t you
think that we would read

141
00:10:00,520 –> 00:10:04,400
straight through from Isaiah 35
straight into Isaiah 40 and

142
00:10:04,400 –> 00:10:07,800
recognize a complete continuity
in the themes?

143
00:10:08,800 –> 00:10:13,760
So why then did Isaiah permit
the flow of his own prophetic

144
00:10:13,760 –> 00:10:16,880
utterances to be interrupted
right in the middle of those two

145
00:10:16,880 –> 00:10:21,520
chapters in such a way?
Well, may I suggest to you,

146
00:10:21,520 –> 00:10:24,320
brothers and sisters, that one
of the key reasons is because we

147
00:10:24,320 –> 00:10:27,760
read these aspects, and rightly
so in a sense.

148
00:10:27,760 –> 00:10:30,000
But we read all of this as
relating to the future, don’t

149
00:10:30,000 –> 00:10:31,400
we?
The wilderness shall blossom as

150
00:10:31,400 –> 00:10:34,600
the Rose, the glory of Yahweh
shall appear, the ransomed of

151
00:10:34,600 –> 00:10:38,080
Yahweh shall return.
They’ll walk upon the highway to

152
00:10:38,080 –> 00:10:41,240
all the future.
We see it all this future.

153
00:10:42,640 –> 00:10:45,960
But Eyes are puts the crisis of
Hezekiah smack in the middle

154
00:10:45,960 –> 00:10:48,680
between these two chapters to
make the point that there was an

155
00:10:48,680 –> 00:10:51,640
initial fulfillment and
immediate application to all

156
00:10:51,640 –> 00:10:55,200
these words and to all these
ideas in the life of Hezekiah

157
00:10:55,200 –> 00:10:57,720
himself.
All of these events found their

158
00:10:57,720 –> 00:11:02,760
substance in the story of this
king, and those events were

159
00:11:02,760 –> 00:11:05,360
going to be dealt with in the
very pivot of the book, which

160
00:11:05,360 –> 00:11:08,880
concerned the crisis of his
Akai.

161
00:11:10,720 –> 00:11:14,240
So again, let’s just examine
that matter of the pivot in a

162
00:11:14,240 –> 00:11:17,640
little more detail so that we
can see how that works.

163
00:11:18,880 –> 00:11:22,680
So here we’ve got Isaiah 1 to
35, the first great section of

164
00:11:22,680 –> 00:11:26,600
the book, and then Isaiah 40 to
66, the second great section of

165
00:11:26,600 –> 00:11:28,560
the book.
And in between we’ve got these 4

166
00:11:28,560 –> 00:11:31,120
chapters that we’ve had the
pleasure and the privilege of

167
00:11:31,120 –> 00:11:33,120
examining the crisis of
Hezekiah.

168
00:11:33,360 –> 00:11:36,720
Isaiah 36 to 39.
Now, if I was to ask you this

169
00:11:36,720 –> 00:11:40,640
question, brothers and sisters,
who would you say is the hero of

170
00:11:40,640 –> 00:11:43,320
the first section of the
prophecy of Isaiah?

171
00:11:43,720 –> 00:11:47,240
Who’s the hero figure behind
those chapters?

172
00:11:48,960 –> 00:11:51,240
And I’m going to suggest to you
that the hero of the first

173
00:11:51,240 –> 00:11:56,040
section is the king in his
righteous reign, because he’s

174
00:11:56,040 –> 00:11:58,680
going to be referred to in
Chapter 9, verses two to seven,

175
00:11:58,680 –> 00:12:02,280
in Chapter 11, verses one to
five in chapter 32, verses 1 to

176
00:12:02,280 –> 00:12:05,720
8.
In chapter 33, verses 14 to 17,

177
00:12:05,720 –> 00:12:07,880
four poems about the righteous
king.

178
00:12:08,280 –> 00:12:11,840
He’s the hero figure of the
first, the first half of the

179
00:12:12,080 –> 00:12:16,040
book of Isaiah.
But the theme of the second part

180
00:12:16,040 –> 00:12:17,760
of the book is really quite
different.

181
00:12:19,080 –> 00:12:23,480
And if I was to ask you who’s
the hero of the second part of

182
00:12:23,480 –> 00:12:28,040
the book of Isaiah, I’ve no
doubt that you would correctly

183
00:12:28,040 –> 00:12:34,240
answer why it is the Servant in
his suffering service.

184
00:12:35,440 –> 00:12:38,680
And he’s going to be referred to
in Isaiah 42 verses one to

185
00:12:38,680 –> 00:12:43,320
seven, Isaiah 49 verses one to
six, Isaiah 50 verses 4 to 9,

186
00:12:43,560 –> 00:12:48,360
Isaiah 52, verse 13 to 53, verse
12, four songs about the

187
00:12:48,360 –> 00:12:51,840
suffering servant, but a
different place, quite a

188
00:12:51,840 –> 00:12:55,760
different person.
Who’s the key to the second-half

189
00:12:55,760 –> 00:13:00,800
of the book of Isaiah?
And then between the two is the

190
00:13:00,800 –> 00:13:04,480
crisis of Hezekiah.
And the reason I suggest is

191
00:13:04,480 –> 00:13:07,680
because Hezekiah was the
prototype for both.

192
00:13:10,400 –> 00:13:14,440
They’re both initially to be
seen in the Life and Times of

193
00:13:14,440 –> 00:13:17,960
Hezekiah because he was the
righteous king who led Judah in

194
00:13:17,960 –> 00:13:21,600
true worship and inspired them
to faith in a time of danger.

195
00:13:21,760 –> 00:13:24,400
The righteous king that the
nation so desperately needed to

196
00:13:24,400 –> 00:13:29,960
lead them in times of trial.
But it will turn out in this

197
00:13:29,960 –> 00:13:33,400
story of the crisis of Hezekiah
that he will also be the

198
00:13:33,400 –> 00:13:36,880
suffering servant who would
suffer for his people in

199
00:13:36,880 –> 00:13:43,280
bringing them to salvation.
And the change from the one to

200
00:13:43,280 –> 00:13:47,080
the other, from the righteous
king to the suffering servant,

201
00:13:47,080 –> 00:13:51,120
would all come about in
Hezekiah’s reign.

202
00:13:52,560 –> 00:13:54,880
That’s where the story of Isaiah
will switch over to the

203
00:13:54,880 –> 00:13:57,280
second-half, and it will all
have its out, working at the

204
00:13:57,280 –> 00:14:03,400
pivot in the crisis of Hezekiah.
In fact, the themes of

205
00:14:03,480 –> 00:14:07,000
Hezekiah’s crisis have to do
with the supremacy of Yahweh

206
00:14:07,040 –> 00:14:11,400
over the gods, the sinful state
of the nation, the leprous

207
00:14:11,400 –> 00:14:15,920
condition of the king, the
joyful return of the Exiles, the

208
00:14:15,920 –> 00:14:18,440
salvation of the people, the
calling of the Gentiles.

209
00:14:18,600 –> 00:14:21,280
And all of those themes which
begin in the Life and Times of

210
00:14:21,280 –> 00:14:24,120
Hezekiah are going to be finally
at work in the second part of

211
00:14:24,120 –> 00:14:26,320
the book.
But the outline of Hezekiah is

212
00:14:26,320 –> 00:14:28,640
going to be found right across
the pages.

213
00:14:28,720 –> 00:14:32,520
His story is the centerpiece of
the whole prophecy of Isaiah.

214
00:14:33,520 –> 00:14:36,200
And you know what’s interesting
about that centerpiece?

215
00:14:38,040 –> 00:14:44,440
It is this that this section of
Isaiah in the middle chapters 36

216
00:14:44,440 –> 00:14:53,640
to 39 just happens to be a
perfectly formed chiasmus

217
00:14:55,960 –> 00:15:01,640
surprise, surprise that sits
like a jewel in the middle, you

218
00:15:01,640 –> 00:15:05,200
see.
So should we just look at the

219
00:15:05,200 –> 00:15:08,560
chaos, Miss to see the sense of
how it takes us into the middle

220
00:15:08,560 –> 00:15:11,720
of a journey that we might
understand the crisis of the

221
00:15:11,720 –> 00:15:16,120
king more perfectly?
You see, if you were to ask

222
00:15:16,120 –> 00:15:20,800
yourself how does this story
begin in these 4 chapters, the

223
00:15:20,800 –> 00:15:24,560
answer is, well, it’s all about
the arrival of the hostile

224
00:15:25,120 –> 00:15:30,520
Assyrian emissaries.
But you know how the story will

225
00:15:30,520 –> 00:15:36,080
finish in chapter 39, it’s all
about the arrival of the

226
00:15:36,080 –> 00:15:43,080
friendly Babylonian ambassadors.
In the first story, the Assyrian

227
00:15:43,080 –> 00:15:47,160
king sent envoys to Hezekiah
with a threatening message in an

228
00:15:47,160 –> 00:15:51,520
army.
In the second story, at the end,

229
00:15:52,040 –> 00:15:55,080
the Babylonian king sent envoys
to Hezekiah with a peaceful

230
00:15:55,080 –> 00:15:59,040
message and a prison.
In the first story, Hezekiah

231
00:15:59,040 –> 00:16:01,840
refused them admittance to the
city and would not give them a

232
00:16:01,840 –> 00:16:03,960
reply.
In the second story, he gave

233
00:16:03,960 –> 00:16:06,160
them welcome into the city and
show them all his treasures.

234
00:16:07,720 –> 00:16:09,800
Do you censor chiasmus bill and
sisters?

235
00:16:10,520 –> 00:16:13,240
Oh yes.
There’s a whole structure here

236
00:16:13,240 –> 00:16:16,320
in these chapters that are going
to bookend the story of the

237
00:16:16,320 –> 00:16:21,600
crisis of Hezekiah and these two
accounts, first of the Assyrian

238
00:16:21,600 –> 00:16:24,240
envoys and then of the
Babylonian envoys.

239
00:16:24,360 –> 00:16:26,960
They become in themselves the
bookends of the Chaosmas.

240
00:16:27,120 –> 00:16:30,160
But you see, what’s interesting
is that those two powers also

241
00:16:30,160 –> 00:16:33,000
answer to the two halves of
Isaiah’s prophecy, because

242
00:16:33,000 –> 00:16:37,000
Isaiah 1 to 35 is set in the
context of the threat of the

243
00:16:37,000 –> 00:16:42,160
Assyrian invasion.
But Isaiah 40 to 66 is all about

244
00:16:42,160 –> 00:16:45,360
the implications of the
Babylonian exile, and that

245
00:16:45,360 –> 00:16:47,600
changed from Assyrian to
Babylonian.

246
00:16:47,760 –> 00:16:50,440
The book is going to pivot from
1:00 to the other in this

247
00:16:50,440 –> 00:16:52,560
chiasmus.
During the life of this king.

248
00:16:54,920 –> 00:16:58,840
The circumstances of his life
will mark the moment of the

249
00:16:58,840 –> 00:17:02,880
change.
So let’s come in from the

250
00:17:02,880 –> 00:17:08,520
bookends.
So in the middle is Isaiah 37,

251
00:17:08,520 –> 00:17:13,000
verse one and three to the end
of Isaiah 38, verse 22.

252
00:17:14,200 –> 00:17:17,200
And if we were to advance that a
little further, we have the

253
00:17:17,319 –> 00:17:20,440
distress of Hezekiah in the
start of chapter 37.

254
00:17:20,440 –> 00:17:23,319
And he’s distressed, of course,
that the impending invasion, in

255
00:17:23,319 –> 00:17:26,040
fact, the threatened invasion of
of Sennacherib, since he’s

256
00:17:26,040 –> 00:17:28,680
already at Lakish, not far away
from Jerusalem.

257
00:17:28,840 –> 00:17:32,240
And at the other end of the
story, we have the sickness of

258
00:17:32,240 –> 00:17:35,960
Hezekiah and his appeal to God.
So really, at the top, that’s

259
00:17:35,960 –> 00:17:38,120
the first crisis, isn’t it?
The threat of invasion.

260
00:17:38,240 –> 00:17:41,440
At the bottom, that’s the second
crisis, the threat of sickness.

261
00:17:42,520 –> 00:17:44,880
These are the two great
tragedies that came upon

262
00:17:44,960 –> 00:17:48,480
Hezekiah at the same time.
In the first, Hezekiah received

263
00:17:48,480 –> 00:17:51,840
the distressing news of the
threat of imminent invasion.

264
00:17:51,960 –> 00:17:55,800
In the second, he received the
terrible news of the prospect of

265
00:17:55,920 –> 00:17:59,560
impending death.
In the first, Hezekiah appealed

266
00:17:59,560 –> 00:18:05,960
to Yahweh for divine assistance.
In the second he appealed, he

267
00:18:05,960 –> 00:18:08,760
prayed to Yahweh for divine
remembrance.

268
00:18:10,080 –> 00:18:12,880
In the first, Isaiah came back
with a comforting message of

269
00:18:12,880 –> 00:18:16,320
reassurance to the king.
In the second, the prophet

270
00:18:16,320 –> 00:18:18,720
Isaiah came back with a
comforting message of

271
00:18:18,720 –> 00:18:24,960
reassurance to the king.
And therefore we’re left with

272
00:18:25,000 –> 00:18:29,400
Isaiah 37, verse 8 to 37, verse
38.

273
00:18:31,960 –> 00:18:37,880
Shall we take a step further?
So in Isaiah 37, verses 8 to 13,

274
00:18:38,000 –> 00:18:41,160
we have the blasphemous words of
Sennacherib, the ultimate

275
00:18:41,160 –> 00:18:42,880
challenge that reproached the
living God.

276
00:18:43,160 –> 00:18:47,200
And in response to that, in
chapter 37, verses 21 to 38, we

277
00:18:47,200 –> 00:18:51,680
have the powerful response of
Yahweh and we know what the

278
00:18:51,680 –> 00:18:55,760
spirit of of Seneca was.
Do not allow your God to deceive

279
00:18:55,760 –> 00:18:57,880
you into thinking that Jerusalem
will not fall.

280
00:18:57,960 –> 00:18:59,640
Came the threat of the Assyrian
king.

281
00:18:59,800 –> 00:19:03,200
And the response of God at the
other side of the story was, you

282
00:19:03,200 –> 00:19:07,080
have reproached and blasphemed
me, the Holy one of Israel in

283
00:19:07,080 –> 00:19:09,880
those words.
In the first story, the king in

284
00:19:09,880 –> 00:19:13,200
effect said, your God cannot
deliver you from the might of

285
00:19:13,200 –> 00:19:15,080
Assyria.
In the second the answer comes

286
00:19:15,080 –> 00:19:19,160
back, I will defend the city and
I will overthrow the might of

287
00:19:19,160 –> 00:19:21,960
Assyria.
It’s a kiastic structure.

288
00:19:23,920 –> 00:19:26,840
And that leaves us with that
section in the middle.

289
00:19:29,760 –> 00:19:32,200
So let me just put all that
together again on the same a

290
00:19:32,200 –> 00:19:35,720
similar slide, but just just
condense the the information.

291
00:19:35,720 –> 00:19:39,720
So we’ve got the ambassador’s,
we’ve got the first crisis and

292
00:19:39,720 –> 00:19:42,400
the second crisis.
We’ve got the blasphemous words

293
00:19:42,400 –> 00:19:44,840
of Sennacherib.
We’ve got the powerful response

294
00:19:44,840 –> 00:19:47,880
of Yahweh.
And he is now our chaistic

295
00:19:47,880 –> 00:19:50,880
structure, which leaves us with
the six in the middle.

296
00:19:50,880 –> 00:19:54,000
And without even turning it up,
brothers and sisters, you will

297
00:19:54,000 –> 00:19:58,920
know or should know, that the
very center of this story turns

298
00:19:58,920 –> 00:20:03,160
out to be the prayer of Hezekiah
to his God.

299
00:20:06,360 –> 00:20:09,360
And there’s got to be a reason
why the center of the chasmus is

300
00:20:09,360 –> 00:20:10,800
the prayer of Hezekiah to his
God.

301
00:20:10,880 –> 00:20:12,520
And we will come back to that
shortly.

302
00:20:12,720 –> 00:20:14,840
But we’re going to come to
another question first.

303
00:20:14,880 –> 00:20:18,320
That should claim our attention,
and that’s this, because there

304
00:20:18,320 –> 00:20:22,240
was a distress in the matter of
the invasion, and there’s a

305
00:20:22,240 –> 00:20:25,280
distress in the matter of the
sickness of the king.

306
00:20:25,480 –> 00:20:31,880
So here’s the question why?
Why were there twin crises

307
00:20:32,120 –> 00:20:34,400
brought upon the Kingdom the
same year of his life?

308
00:20:35,920 –> 00:20:39,480
What special lessons were found
in the second crisis?

309
00:20:39,520 –> 00:20:43,840
Sickness that couldn’t be found
in the first crisis invasion?

310
00:20:45,280 –> 00:20:47,160
The king was already suffering
from enough, was he not?

311
00:20:47,160 –> 00:20:48,400
With the invasion of
Sennacherib?

312
00:20:48,520 –> 00:20:51,040
Why did he need the grip of
death to come upon him at the

313
00:20:51,040 –> 00:20:54,040
same time as well?
An almost impossible burden to

314
00:20:54,040 –> 00:20:56,640
be?
How did the two crises match and

315
00:20:56,640 –> 00:21:04,040
counterbalance each other?
Well, part of the answer is that

316
00:21:04,040 –> 00:21:11,240
the first crisis involved the
entire nation.

317
00:21:12,760 –> 00:21:15,920
There wasn’t a person in the
land that wasn’t threatened by

318
00:21:15,920 –> 00:21:22,160
the invasion of Snacker.
But the second crisis affected

319
00:21:22,160 –> 00:21:26,240
just one man, the sickness of
the King.

320
00:21:28,440 –> 00:21:31,880
But the interesting thing is
that the crisis concerning the

321
00:21:31,880 –> 00:21:37,880
nation couldn’t be resolved
until after the conclusion of

322
00:21:37,880 –> 00:21:41,440
the second crisis concerning the
sickness of the king.

323
00:21:41,600 –> 00:21:45,240
So the first was national, the
second was personal, but they

324
00:21:45,240 –> 00:21:49,560
were inextricably intertwined
AS2 parts of the whole.

325
00:21:49,760 –> 00:21:52,760
So not only were there two
crises, but there was a distinct

326
00:21:52,800 –> 00:21:56,080
order to those twin crises, was
there not, in terms of what we

327
00:21:56,080 –> 00:21:59,560
saw in our studies, Because what
we have is the national crisis,

328
00:21:59,720 –> 00:22:03,600
which starts with the matter of
invasion and subjugation and

329
00:22:03,600 –> 00:22:06,120
ends with the promise of
overthrow and deliverance.

330
00:22:06,320 –> 00:22:10,520
But the interesting thing is
that the resolution of that

331
00:22:10,520 –> 00:22:15,480
national crisis could not occur
until the personal crisis had

332
00:22:15,480 –> 00:22:21,560
arrived, of sickness unto death,
followed by recovery unto life.

333
00:22:23,560 –> 00:22:26,520
And in both the King’s sickness
unto death and his recovery unto

334
00:22:26,520 –> 00:22:29,040
life, until both of those were
accomplished, the national

335
00:22:29,040 –> 00:22:32,400
crisis couldn’t be resolved.
The national crisis waited for

336
00:22:32,400 –> 00:22:34,600
the first, the personal, to be
resolved.

337
00:22:34,920 –> 00:22:37,960
And the interesting thing is
that in both cases God provided

338
00:22:37,960 –> 00:22:42,560
evidence that those crises would
be successfully overcome because

339
00:22:42,560 –> 00:22:45,120
He made special sign with regard
to them both.

340
00:22:45,400 –> 00:22:47,880
Now, have you got your hands in
the book of Isaiah waiting

341
00:22:47,880 –> 00:22:50,800
faithfully in the hope that the
brother might ask us to turn up

342
00:22:50,800 –> 00:22:53,800
our Bibles as he always should
in the middle of his studies?

343
00:22:54,360 –> 00:22:57,160
Well, the moment has come,
because do you notice what it

344
00:22:57,160 –> 00:23:04,760
says in Isaiah 37 and verse 30?
And this shall be a sign unto

345
00:23:04,760 –> 00:23:07,120
thee.
Ye shall eat this year such as

346
00:23:07,120 –> 00:23:09,360
growth of itself, and in the
second year, that which

347
00:23:09,360 –> 00:23:11,960
springeth of the same.
And in the third year sow ye and

348
00:23:11,960 –> 00:23:15,600
reap and plant vineyards, and
eat the fruit thereof.

349
00:23:15,840 –> 00:23:19,280
So there was in.
Let me get that right.

350
00:23:19,680 –> 00:23:21,160
Oh, that doesn’t look good, does
it?

351
00:23:26,370 –> 00:23:31,610
I have got it.
So 2 crises and two signs.

352
00:23:31,880 –> 00:23:37,360
So in the 1st in Isaiah 37 verse
30, what we really have is a

353
00:23:37,360 –> 00:23:42,400
national sign.
A sign to the nation of a

354
00:23:42,400 –> 00:23:46,160
fruitful season miraculously
prolonged.

355
00:23:46,600 –> 00:23:49,320
Do not worry says God, the
nation will be fed until the

356
00:23:49,320 –> 00:23:51,320
Assyrian host has been removed
from the land.

357
00:23:51,360 –> 00:23:54,200
I promise you there there will
be food enough for all to eat.

358
00:23:56,840 –> 00:24:02,880
But doesn’t it say in chapter 38
and verse 7, And this shall be a

359
00:24:02,880 –> 00:24:06,160
sign unto thee from Yahweh, that
Yahweh will do this thing, that

360
00:24:06,160 –> 00:24:07,840
He has spoken?
Behold, I’ll bring again the

361
00:24:07,840 –> 00:24:11,560
shadow of the degrees.
So we’ve got a second sign in

362
00:24:11,560 –> 00:24:15,280
Isaiah 38, verse 7.
Ah, but this time the sign not a

363
00:24:15,280 –> 00:24:19,360
national sign, is it?
It’s a personal sign to the king

364
00:24:20,640 –> 00:24:25,560
of the falling shadow that is
miraculously reversed.

365
00:24:26,240 –> 00:24:28,640
So this sign was the promise
that just as time could be

366
00:24:28,640 –> 00:24:31,520
reversed, so the King’s reign
could be fully restored.

367
00:24:31,640 –> 00:24:38,360
SO2 crises and two signs,
because the nation had to learn

368
00:24:39,680 –> 00:24:47,080
that their salvation was bound
up in the King’s own sickness

369
00:24:47,120 –> 00:24:54,560
and the King’s own recovery.
Only then could the nation be

370
00:24:54,560 –> 00:24:58,520
delivered.
And now we understand why the

371
00:24:58,520 –> 00:25:01,960
center of the chiasmus was
perhaps at the prayer of

372
00:25:01,960 –> 00:25:04,160
Hezekiah.
Because you remember what

373
00:25:04,160 –> 00:25:09,200
Hezekiah had prayed.
Save us so that all the earth

374
00:25:09,200 –> 00:25:11,720
may know that thou art Yahweh,
even thou.

375
00:25:11,760 –> 00:25:17,120
Only He prayed the prayer which
showed the correct basis for our

376
00:25:17,120 –> 00:25:20,400
understanding of the Atonement.
Not save us so that we might be

377
00:25:20,400 –> 00:25:25,680
saved, but save us so that we
might manifest and glorify Thee.

378
00:25:26,840 –> 00:25:29,920
God.
Manifestation, not human

379
00:25:29,920 –> 00:25:32,880
salvation, was the great purpose
of the Eternal Spirit.

380
00:25:32,880 –> 00:25:36,080
And this man, this king
understood that message.

381
00:25:36,720 –> 00:25:40,720
And because Yahweh delighted in
the understanding of His A cause

382
00:25:41,360 –> 00:25:45,760
view of the atonement as it was,
He set forth in him in his life

383
00:25:45,960 –> 00:25:49,160
the true basis of salvation.
See, God had promised to destroy

384
00:25:49,160 –> 00:25:53,560
the enemy, promised to deliver
His people, but their salvation

385
00:25:54,880 –> 00:25:59,160
required something more than the
pleadings of their righteous

386
00:25:59,160 –> 00:26:04,760
king.
It required the death of a

387
00:26:04,760 –> 00:26:10,720
covenant victim.
And the king was told that he

388
00:26:10,720 –> 00:26:16,560
would be that man.
Thou shalt die and not live.

389
00:26:18,920 –> 00:26:22,280
Now we know that the shadow
institution of the Law taught

390
00:26:22,720 –> 00:26:27,360
that the ritual of sacrifice
said to every Israelite that

391
00:26:27,360 –> 00:26:30,080
they were under divine
condemnation and had no right to

392
00:26:30,080 –> 00:26:32,640
life.
But the blood of animals could

393
00:26:32,640 –> 00:26:34,600
never declare the righteousness
of God.

394
00:26:35,400 –> 00:26:40,640
Yahweh required the smiting and
healing of a righteous man.

395
00:26:41,680 –> 00:26:44,600
He required the obedient
submission of that man to His

396
00:26:44,600 –> 00:26:47,680
holy ordinance, a confession
that the sentence of death must

397
00:26:47,680 –> 00:26:52,680
be upheld, that sin needed to be
condemned in its own flesh as

398
00:26:52,680 –> 00:26:55,000
the foundation of all goodness
to follow.

399
00:26:55,200 –> 00:26:59,520
Yahweh desired and always has
desired His righteousness in

400
00:26:59,520 –> 00:27:02,080
condemning sin to be
acknowledged as the first

401
00:27:02,080 –> 00:27:06,240
priority, and only then could
there be a basis for the

402
00:27:06,240 –> 00:27:10,560
exercise of God’s forbearance.
But when His righteousness and

403
00:27:10,560 –> 00:27:16,400
supremacy were upheld, he would
be pleased to extend the

404
00:27:16,400 –> 00:27:19,640
blessing of forgiveness, and
through that gift comes the hope

405
00:27:19,640 –> 00:27:23,520
of salvation unto eternal life.
Now all that was known of old to

406
00:27:23,520 –> 00:27:28,160
Israel, but never before, until
this man, never before had there

407
00:27:28,160 –> 00:27:32,240
been an exhibition of these
principles, this fully in the

408
00:27:32,240 –> 00:27:39,720
life of a man.
Only now, only at this moment,

409
00:27:41,400 –> 00:27:46,520
and uniquely in this man would
it finally be seen.

410
00:27:49,600 –> 00:27:54,920
And in his A car, Yahweh set
forth the drama of the

411
00:27:54,920 –> 00:28:00,720
redemption of mankind, a drama
that would necessitate both the

412
00:28:00,720 –> 00:28:05,680
death and the resurrection of a
man for the salvation of His

413
00:28:05,680 –> 00:28:09,560
people.
And with that understanding, we

414
00:28:09,640 –> 00:28:13,320
now take up the secret of the
cipher, because now perhaps we

415
00:28:13,320 –> 00:28:16,400
can understand the true meaning
of the crisis of Hezekiah.

416
00:28:16,480 –> 00:28:23,680
This wasn’t history.
This was a prophecy, a prophecy

417
00:28:24,400 –> 00:28:29,320
of the atoning work of Christ.
And when we look at the life of

418
00:28:29,320 –> 00:28:33,560
Hezekiah, we need to see in his
crisis the siege that we’re all

419
00:28:33,560 –> 00:28:36,080
under from the effects of human
nature upon us.

420
00:28:36,200 –> 00:28:38,640
And like the king, we need to
come before our God, an earnest

421
00:28:38,640 –> 00:28:44,000
prayer and ask him to deal with
our enemy and to confess that is

422
00:28:44,000 –> 00:28:47,960
beyond our power to deal with,
with such an enemy who’s come

423
00:28:47,960 –> 00:28:50,560
against us.
So let’s have a look just

424
00:28:50,560 –> 00:28:54,400
briefly by the sisters by way of
illustration and by way of

425
00:28:54,400 –> 00:28:57,800
understanding at some of the
aspects of the parable of

426
00:28:57,800 –> 00:29:00,880
Hezekiah’s crisis.
I think there’s many more

427
00:29:00,880 –> 00:29:03,200
things.
I just want to whet your

428
00:29:03,200 –> 00:29:06,120
appetite as to the
possibilities.

429
00:29:08,040 –> 00:29:15,200
So here it is.
You see, King Sin promised

430
00:29:15,200 –> 00:29:21,240
liberty but demanded total
surrender and submission to the

431
00:29:21,240 –> 00:29:24,880
bondage of his control.
So that’s what that’s what Reb

432
00:29:24,920 –> 00:29:30,160
Shaker had said on Sennacherib’s
behalf in Isaiah 36 verses 16

433
00:29:30,160 –> 00:29:32,240
and 17.
Make an agreement with me and

434
00:29:32,240 –> 00:29:34,840
come out to me.
Ye everyone was vine until I

435
00:29:34,840 –> 00:29:38,160
come to take you away.
You see, Sennacherib was a type

436
00:29:38,160 –> 00:29:42,040
of the power of sin who comes
upon us as a strong man to

437
00:29:42,040 –> 00:29:45,120
conquer and to rule all.
He invites us subjects to enjoy

438
00:29:45,120 –> 00:29:49,480
benefits, but they all come at
the price of surrender.

439
00:29:50,520 –> 00:29:53,840
The challenge of Sennacherib lay
in his demand for his submission

440
00:29:53,960 –> 00:29:56,240
and also his power to compel
that submission.

441
00:29:56,560 –> 00:30:00,920
But here’s a car and the nation.
At that moment, they must have

442
00:30:00,920 –> 00:30:04,520
both felt the hopeless
inevitability of knowing that

443
00:30:04,520 –> 00:30:07,840
there was no natural means of
deliverance from the King’s

444
00:30:07,840 –> 00:30:09,960
power.
But that’s what sins like, isn’t

445
00:30:11,520 –> 00:30:14,400
it?
It enforces our submission to

446
00:30:14,400 –> 00:30:19,800
the bondage of its control.
We all have Sennacherib at the

447
00:30:19,800 –> 00:30:21,560
door.
Brothers and sisters, every day

448
00:30:21,560 –> 00:30:24,720
of our lives we’re threatened by
the invasion of king sin.

449
00:30:27,800 –> 00:30:32,400
You know it says in Romans 8
verse 21, the creation itself

450
00:30:32,400 –> 00:30:36,200
shall one day be delivered from
the bondage of corruption unto

451
00:30:36,200 –> 00:30:38,800
the glorious liberty of the
children of God.

452
00:30:38,800 –> 00:30:41,400
And that word bondage reminds us
of what it was like when a

453
00:30:41,400 –> 00:30:44,640
foreign power came into the land
as Sennacherib did it promised.

454
00:30:44,640 –> 00:30:47,840
He promised bondage only.
And that’s the reality of sin in

455
00:30:47,840 –> 00:30:50,160
our lives.
But the sisters and, and this is

456
00:30:50,160 –> 00:30:54,080
what it says in second Peter 2
verse 19, because while they

457
00:30:54,080 –> 00:30:58,120
promised them liberty, in
reality they’re the servants of

458
00:30:58,120 –> 00:31:03,000
corruption, for of whom a man is
overcome of the same as he

459
00:31:03,000 –> 00:31:05,560
brought in bondage.
And that’s the reality for all

460
00:31:05,560 –> 00:31:08,400
of us brothers and sisters.
We’re brought into bondage

461
00:31:08,400 –> 00:31:11,520
because sin makes us the
servants of corruption.

462
00:31:11,520 –> 00:31:14,240
And that’s what Christ came to
do battle with.

463
00:31:14,400 –> 00:31:17,760
He came to deliver from the
bondage of sin.

464
00:31:19,000 –> 00:31:20,880
He came to overthrow the power
of sinacred.

465
00:31:21,080 –> 00:31:22,920
And that’s what it says in
Hebrews 2, does it not?

466
00:31:22,920 –> 00:31:27,480
Verses 14 and 15, that He might
destroy him that had the power

467
00:31:27,560 –> 00:31:31,120
of death and deliver them, who
through fear of death were all

468
00:31:31,240 –> 00:31:34,040
their lifetime subject to
bondage.

469
00:31:34,240 –> 00:31:37,400
That’s the reality of Christ’s
deliverance in all their lives.

470
00:31:37,400 –> 00:31:40,960
It’s a matter of bondage of the
sisters to the power of Sidon,

471
00:31:42,160 –> 00:31:44,520
the crisis of a nation under the
threat of sin.

472
00:31:44,520 –> 00:31:50,040
Ericsson Akram was a parable of
the threat of king sin in all

473
00:31:50,040 –> 00:31:52,960
our lives and the need for one
who might come forth to do

474
00:31:53,160 –> 00:31:56,760
battle on our behalf.
And perhaps in that context, we

475
00:31:56,920 –> 00:32:01,480
also understand that Hezekiah’s
spirit in the onslaught of that

476
00:32:01,480 –> 00:32:06,360
taunting speech of Reb Shaker
suddenly now assumes a new

477
00:32:06,360 –> 00:32:10,760
significance, does it not?
Because you see what the what

478
00:32:10,760 –> 00:32:14,680
the king had said was to his
deputies.

479
00:32:15,160 –> 00:32:16,960
They held their peace and
answered them.

480
00:32:16,960 –> 00:32:22,440
Not a word for the King’s
commandment was answer him not.

481
00:32:24,760 –> 00:32:30,440
That was the spirit of Hezekiah.
And isn’t that what the Lord

482
00:32:30,440 –> 00:32:35,720
did, Brothers and sisters?
Matthew 26 verses 62 to 63, the

483
00:32:35,720 –> 00:32:37,320
high priest car for said, What
is that?

484
00:32:37,320 –> 00:32:38,640
That which these witness against
thee?

485
00:32:38,640 –> 00:32:45,240
But Jesus held his peace.
Or again in Luke 23 verses 8 and

486
00:32:45,240 –> 00:32:47,360
9.
And when Herod saw Jesus, he was

487
00:32:47,360 –> 00:32:51,240
glad and questioned him, but he
answered him nothing.

488
00:32:52,360 –> 00:32:55,720
In John 19 verses 8:00 and 9:00,
when Pilot heard that saying, he

489
00:32:55,720 –> 00:32:57,360
said unto Jesus, Whence out
there?

490
00:32:57,560 –> 00:33:04,640
But Jesus gave him no answer.
So the silence of the Lord in

491
00:33:04,640 –> 00:33:08,400
the face of severe provocation
was a testimony to his faith in

492
00:33:08,400 –> 00:33:09,680
God.
Where did he get that from?

493
00:33:09,680 –> 00:33:12,040
Brothers, sisters, where did our
Lord find that?

494
00:33:12,840 –> 00:33:16,440
But at least in part in the
inspiring example of Hezekiah of

495
00:33:16,440 –> 00:33:20,920
old, that’s what the Lord did
when dealing with the Champions

496
00:33:21,040 –> 00:33:23,560
of sin in his own day.
He said nothing because he

497
00:33:23,560 –> 00:33:26,080
committed his cause to God.
And I think he did it because,

498
00:33:26,280 –> 00:33:29,120
well, he knew the story of
Hezekiah and because He knew,

499
00:33:29,120 –> 00:33:34,400
because our Lord knew the story
of Hezekiah, He knew, thankfully

500
00:33:34,400 –> 00:33:38,880
with absolute certainty, what
the final outcome of his trial

501
00:33:38,880 –> 00:33:41,520
would be.
Because you can just imagine how

502
00:33:41,520 –> 00:33:45,200
our Lord must have seized on
these words, or at least this

503
00:33:45,200 –> 00:33:52,240
idea that His healing and
restoration from certain death

504
00:33:53,520 –> 00:33:57,800
would be accomplished.
On the third day.

505
00:34:00,000 –> 00:34:03,480
I’ve heard thy prayer, I’ve seen
thy tears.

506
00:34:04,560 –> 00:34:08,800
I will heal thee.
On the third day, Thou shalt go

507
00:34:08,800 –> 00:34:11,520
up into the House of God.
Oh, Can you imagine our Lord

508
00:34:11,520 –> 00:34:14,639
Jesus Christ reading the story
of the crisis of Izakar and

509
00:34:14,639 –> 00:34:17,920
finding comfort in those words?
He must have known, don’t you

510
00:34:17,920 –> 00:34:19,360
think?
Because you see what the Lord

511
00:34:19,360 –> 00:34:22,840
says.
And Luke 24, verses 45 to 46

512
00:34:23,120 –> 00:34:25,560
then opened he their
understanding.

513
00:34:25,800 –> 00:34:28,239
Thus it is written.
And thus it behooved Christ to

514
00:34:28,239 –> 00:34:30,719
suffer, and to rise from the
dead the third day.

515
00:34:30,800 –> 00:34:32,239
Thus it is written, said the
Lord.

516
00:34:32,239 –> 00:34:35,880
Where was it written that the
Lord should save us?

517
00:34:37,000 –> 00:34:39,960
Well, at least one of the places
that the Lord might have been

518
00:34:39,960 –> 00:34:44,159
referring to was the story of
His a car in the crisis of His a

519
00:34:44,159 –> 00:34:46,880
car in the chapters that we’ve
investigated.

520
00:34:47,040 –> 00:34:51,000
And does it not say in Acts 10,
verse 40 and 41, by the mouth of

521
00:34:51,000 –> 00:34:54,639
the Lord’s apostles him God
raised up the third day and

522
00:34:54,639 –> 00:34:58,400
showed him openly not to all the
people, but unto witnesses

523
00:34:58,640 –> 00:35:03,280
chosen before of God.
And again in the first of

524
00:35:03,280 –> 00:35:06,920
Corinthians, chapter 15, verse
four, that he, Christ was buried

525
00:35:07,120 –> 00:35:12,200
and that he rose again the third
day according to according to

526
00:35:12,200 –> 00:35:17,120
the Scriptures.
One of those scriptures, don’t

527
00:35:17,120 –> 00:35:22,320
you think, is this story of the
crisis of Hezekiah and the king

528
00:35:22,320 –> 00:35:24,600
who was permitted to go up again
into the House of God.

529
00:35:24,720 –> 00:35:27,720
Can you imagine what wonderful
encouragement that that must

530
00:35:27,720 –> 00:35:29,640
have been for our Lord Jesus
Christ?

531
00:35:29,800 –> 00:35:32,440
And the fact that he must rise
again as the basis of

532
00:35:32,440 –> 00:35:36,600
deliverance for both himself and
his people was something that

533
00:35:36,600 –> 00:35:41,200
Hezekiah knew from the something
that the Lord knew from his

534
00:35:41,280 –> 00:35:46,480
knowledge of the story of
Hezekiah, that the deliverance

535
00:35:46,480 –> 00:35:54,120
of the king was the precursor
and basis for the salvation of

536
00:35:54,120 –> 00:35:57,720
the nation.
I think Christ understood the

537
00:35:57,720 –> 00:36:01,240
significance of that in the
story of Hezekiah because, well,

538
00:36:01,240 –> 00:36:04,960
here it is.
You see Isaiah 38 verses 5 and 6

539
00:36:04,960 –> 00:36:11,600
says, I’ve heard thy prayer, I
have seen thy tears, and I will

540
00:36:11,600 –> 00:36:20,240
deliver thee, Here’s a car, and
this city, Jerusalem, out of the

541
00:36:20,240 –> 00:36:24,400
hand of king. 7 you see the
order by the scissors.

542
00:36:24,480 –> 00:36:26,880
I’ll deliver the king first.
And only when the king has been

543
00:36:26,880 –> 00:36:28,520
delivered might the city be
saved.

544
00:36:28,680 –> 00:36:31,440
And the city was saved because
the king was delivered.

545
00:36:32,320 –> 00:36:36,360
So the appearance of the king
having been delivered and

546
00:36:36,360 –> 00:36:39,360
recovered from the sickness of
death was the precursor to the

547
00:36:39,360 –> 00:36:41,560
salvation of the nation that
might follow.

548
00:36:42,920 –> 00:36:45,920
And isn’t that what it says in
Second Chronicles chapter 32

549
00:36:45,920 –> 00:36:51,840
verse 22?
Thus Yahweh saved Hezekiah and

550
00:36:51,880 –> 00:36:57,160
the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
first the king, then the nation.

551
00:36:59,880 –> 00:37:03,960
Isaiah 53 verse 5 says he was
wounded for our transgressions.

552
00:37:04,160 –> 00:37:07,800
The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with with his

553
00:37:07,800 –> 00:37:12,360
stripes we are healed and the
initial fulfillment of course of

554
00:37:12,360 –> 00:37:15,880
the words of Isaiah 53 very much
had their basis in the life

555
00:37:15,880 –> 00:37:19,120
experience of good king Hezekiah
of Judah.

556
00:37:19,760 –> 00:37:22,640
The whole nation was to realize
that their success, their

557
00:37:22,640 –> 00:37:27,600
deliverance was completely
dependent on the deliverance of

558
00:37:27,760 –> 00:37:34,480
their king and you’ll all know
these words in John 3 verse 17.

559
00:37:34,640 –> 00:37:38,040
God sent not his Son into the
world to condemn the world, but

560
00:37:38,040 –> 00:37:44,040
that the world through him might
be saved.

561
00:37:45,320 –> 00:37:54,240
One man for the many, the King
for his people, the Son of God

562
00:37:55,680 –> 00:38:00,680
for the world.
And it would be in the King’s

563
00:38:00,840 –> 00:38:05,120
typical death and in the King’s
typical resurrection that the

564
00:38:05,120 –> 00:38:08,800
salvation of the nation would be
made possible through the

565
00:38:08,800 –> 00:38:13,600
forgiveness of their iniquity.
So let me show you a piece of

566
00:38:13,680 –> 00:38:16,640
passage which is helpful to our
next thought.

567
00:38:16,840 –> 00:38:20,920
If you come back to Isaiah 22,
to the words of the prophet

568
00:38:20,920 –> 00:38:24,480
Isaiah, he has an interesting
expression in which he

569
00:38:24,480 –> 00:38:28,640
castigates the nation for their
unfaithfulness at this very time

570
00:38:28,640 –> 00:38:33,480
of the crisis of of Sennacherib
having come into the land and

571
00:38:33,480 –> 00:38:35,440
the king being under threat
himself.

572
00:38:35,640 –> 00:38:38,040
And this is what the prophet
said concerning the spirit of

573
00:38:38,040 –> 00:38:40,960
the nation and how very much
different it was to the spirit

574
00:38:40,960 –> 00:38:44,920
of their king.
Isaiah 22 and reading from verse

575
00:38:44,920 –> 00:38:50,880
12.
And in that day did the Lord God

576
00:38:50,880 –> 00:38:54,200
of hosts call to weeping, into
mourning, into baldness, and to

577
00:38:54,200 –> 00:38:57,440
girding with sackcloth.
That’s what he wanted.

578
00:38:57,440 –> 00:39:01,080
That’s what he asked for.
But what did the nation do?

579
00:39:01,120 –> 00:39:05,400
How did the nation respond?
Verse 13 Behold instead joy and

580
00:39:05,400 –> 00:39:08,880
gladness, slaying oxen and
killing sheep and eating flesh

581
00:39:08,880 –> 00:39:11,360
and drinking wine and saying,
let us eat and drink, for

582
00:39:11,360 –> 00:39:15,760
tomorrow we die completely
unfaithful.

583
00:39:17,400 –> 00:39:20,280
And the prophet says, it was
revealed in mine ears by Yahweh

584
00:39:20,280 –> 00:39:23,880
of hosts.
Surely this iniquity in you,

585
00:39:23,880 –> 00:39:27,720
this iniquity shall not be
purged from you till you die,

586
00:39:28,360 –> 00:39:31,280
saith the Lord God of hosts.
That was a terribly serious

587
00:39:31,280 –> 00:39:34,480
indictment upon the nation.
So unfaithful was their spirit

588
00:39:34,480 –> 00:39:36,640
that they had no trust
whatsoever in their God.

589
00:39:36,640 –> 00:39:38,840
The king was righteous, but
certainly not the nation.

590
00:39:40,240 –> 00:39:46,520
And yet, and yet, as it turned
out, their iniquity would be

591
00:39:46,520 –> 00:39:54,440
forgiven by God, but not because
they died, but because typically

592
00:39:54,440 –> 00:39:58,920
their king would.
So in the parable of Hezekiah,

593
00:39:59,440 –> 00:40:04,320
the iniquity of the nation would
be forgiven through the typical

594
00:40:04,360 –> 00:40:07,320
death and resurrection of the
king.

595
00:40:09,560 –> 00:40:12,960
Now here it is in Isaiah 33
verse 24.

596
00:40:14,120 –> 00:40:16,480
If you’ve ever wondered what
these words are about, and this

597
00:40:16,480 –> 00:40:19,080
in a chapter which incidentally
rejoices over the fact that the

598
00:40:19,080 –> 00:40:22,240
Assyrian is no longer in the
land because the Assyrians been

599
00:40:22,240 –> 00:40:26,640
overthrown, the prophet says and
Isaiah 33 verse 24, and the

600
00:40:26,640 –> 00:40:29,720
inhabitants will not say I am
sick.

601
00:40:30,200 –> 00:40:33,920
Now who would the inhabitant
singular be in the city of

602
00:40:33,920 –> 00:40:36,960
Jerusalem, who one day would be
able to declare that he was no

603
00:40:36,960 –> 00:40:40,120
longer sick?
That’s the king by the sisters

604
00:40:40,200 –> 00:40:43,280
recovered from his sickness unto
death to Wellness again.

605
00:40:43,880 –> 00:40:46,480
That’s the king recovered.
And as a result of the recovery

606
00:40:46,480 –> 00:40:49,800
of the king, what are the
inhabitants of the city say?

607
00:40:50,960 –> 00:40:55,880
The people that dwell therein
shall be forgiven their

608
00:40:56,160 –> 00:41:02,320
iniquity.
So you see, that’s that’s saying

609
00:41:02,320 –> 00:41:04,840
that the people were going to be
forgiven their iniquity

610
00:41:05,000 –> 00:41:10,520
consequent upon the sickness and
the healing of their king.

611
00:41:11,360 –> 00:41:16,280
He had been their sin bearer and
through him their salvation

612
00:41:16,360 –> 00:41:18,240
would come.
And if we were to ask, brothers,

613
00:41:18,240 –> 00:41:20,320
sisters, what does the prophet
say to us?

614
00:41:20,520 –> 00:41:22,600
The answer is yes.
Isaiah I thought he verse to

615
00:41:22,720 –> 00:41:26,040
speak he comfortably to
Jerusalem, and cry unto her that

616
00:41:26,120 –> 00:41:30,840
a warfare is accomplished, the
Assyrian is finished, and also

617
00:41:30,840 –> 00:41:38,840
that her iniquity is pardoned.
And if we were to ask, how was

618
00:41:38,840 –> 00:41:42,120
her iniquity to be pardoned?
The prophet himself replies, and

619
00:41:42,400 –> 00:41:45,640
Isaiah 53, verse 6.
All we like sheep have gone

620
00:41:45,640 –> 00:41:50,280
astray, we have turned everyone
to his own way, but Yahweh hath

621
00:41:50,280 –> 00:41:58,840
laid on him the iniquity of us
all that was outworked in the

622
00:41:58,840 –> 00:42:01,720
first instance in the life of
the king with whom they had to

623
00:42:01,720 –> 00:42:03,800
do it, that precise moment in
their history.

624
00:42:03,800 –> 00:42:09,080
Brother, sisters, good king
Hezekiah, and it says this of

625
00:42:09,080 –> 00:42:12,640
the Lord, and Titus chapter 2,
verses 13 and 14.

626
00:42:13,040 –> 00:42:19,680
Our Saviour Jesus Christ, who
gave Himself for us, that He

627
00:42:19,680 –> 00:42:28,400
might redeem us from all
iniquity, and purify unto

628
00:42:28,400 –> 00:42:33,840
Himself a peculiar people.
So the very work of our Lord

629
00:42:33,840 –> 00:42:37,280
Jesus Christ was going to be
captured in the thrilling story

630
00:42:37,280 –> 00:42:40,520
of the crisis of Hezekiah, where
the nation’s own destiny was

631
00:42:40,520 –> 00:42:42,960
bound up in the King’s
circumstances.

632
00:42:45,160 –> 00:42:50,960
How wonderful to have such a
clear parable that, as it turns

633
00:42:50,960 –> 00:42:56,600
out, is hiding in plain sight.
And we read the record of Isaiah

634
00:42:56,600 –> 00:43:00,680
36 to 39 afresh, and we suddenly
see in it not the story of

635
00:43:00,680 –> 00:43:07,400
Hezekiah, about the story of our
Lord Jesus Christ and his

636
00:43:07,400 –> 00:43:09,240
atoning work on behalf of
others.

637
00:43:11,480 –> 00:43:13,400
There’s an interesting,
interesting comment in the

638
00:43:13,400 –> 00:43:19,440
Jewish Targum which taught that
Hezekiah’s godliness alone was

639
00:43:19,440 –> 00:43:23,440
responsible for the destruction
of the army and the deliverance

640
00:43:23,440 –> 00:43:27,440
of the nation when Sennacherib
came against Jerusalem.

641
00:43:29,200 –> 00:43:31,520
And we agree with that thought,
not because the Jewish Targum

642
00:43:31,520 –> 00:43:35,440
says so, but because we got the
warrant of what Isaiah 36 to 39

643
00:43:35,440 –> 00:43:38,320
we believe is in reality telling
us and teaching us.

644
00:43:38,480 –> 00:43:41,720
In fact, one of their most
famous rabbis, Rabbi Heliol, had

645
00:43:41,720 –> 00:43:44,360
this rather interesting
expression when he said this.

646
00:43:45,320 –> 00:43:51,560
The Jews shall have no more
Messiah, he said, for they have

647
00:43:51,560 –> 00:43:55,840
already had him in the days of
Hezekiah.

648
00:43:58,760 –> 00:44:02,520
Now he didn’t mean that Hezekiah
really was the Messiah of the

649
00:44:02,520 –> 00:44:04,440
nation.
But what he did mean was that

650
00:44:04,440 –> 00:44:08,040
the work which Hezekiah
accomplished was unique in this

651
00:44:08,040 –> 00:44:14,400
respect, that no greater type of
the sacrifice of Christ for the

652
00:44:14,400 –> 00:44:18,640
salvation of others would be
found anywhere in Scripture.

653
00:44:20,800 –> 00:44:26,160
In Hezekiah, the spirit of
Christ’s sacrificial work on

654
00:44:26,160 –> 00:44:30,760
behalf of his people found its
greatest expression.

655
00:44:33,200 –> 00:44:36,240
What the life of this man shows
and has shown us is that when

656
00:44:36,240 –> 00:44:39,080
the crises of life come upon us,
there’s great wisdom and

657
00:44:39,080 –> 00:44:42,200
remembering those principles
that will help us to face those

658
00:44:42,200 –> 00:44:48,120
moments wisely and well.
Taking time for careful

659
00:44:48,320 –> 00:44:55,360
assessment, praying with God
centered focus, revealing the

660
00:44:55,360 –> 00:45:03,920
spirit of resignation, offering
thanks by faithful service, and

661
00:45:03,920 –> 00:45:06,120
showing humility to confess
fault.

662
00:45:07,680 –> 00:45:10,400
And in the end, the king was
greatly blessed because of a

663
00:45:10,400 –> 00:45:13,800
spirit before his God.
In fact, Isaiah 53 would say

664
00:45:13,800 –> 00:45:16,440
this.
When thou shalt make his soul

665
00:45:16,520 –> 00:45:20,000
and offering for sin, he shall
see his seed, he shall prolong

666
00:45:20,000 –> 00:45:23,280
his days, and the pleasure of
Yahweh shall prosper in his

667
00:45:23,280 –> 00:45:25,200
hand.
And in a very real sense, don’t

668
00:45:25,200 –> 00:45:28,440
you think God did make Hezekiah
soul an offering for sin on

669
00:45:28,440 –> 00:45:31,080
behalf of his nation?
And everything that Isaiah said

670
00:45:31,360 –> 00:45:35,200
in that servant Song prophecy
came to pass in measure in

671
00:45:35,200 –> 00:45:38,440
Hezekiah’s own life as a
forerunner of the Lord.

672
00:45:39,040 –> 00:45:40,440
They’re all spoken of the Lord
in the end.

673
00:45:40,440 –> 00:45:42,400
We know that.
But they all had their beginning

674
00:45:42,520 –> 00:45:44,040
in the Life and Times of
Hezekiah.

675
00:45:44,240 –> 00:45:48,160
He did see his seed because
Manasseh his son was born in

676
00:45:48,160 –> 00:45:50,880
good time to preserve the royal
line of David.

677
00:45:51,120 –> 00:45:53,800
And he did prolong his days.
Because God said, I will land

678
00:45:53,800 –> 00:45:58,560
unto thy days, 15 years.
And the pleasure of Yahweh did

679
00:45:58,560 –> 00:46:00,440
prosper in his hand.
Because the summary of

680
00:46:00,440 –> 00:46:04,200
Hezekiah’s life was.
And every work that he began, he

681
00:46:04,200 –> 00:46:08,360
did it with all his heart and
prospered, says the Second of

682
00:46:08,360 –> 00:46:15,800
Chronicles 31 and verse 21.
So perhaps the best way for us

683
00:46:15,800 –> 00:46:22,360
to honor the example of so great
a man is to try and behave in

684
00:46:22,360 –> 00:46:26,200
the same way when the
difficulties of life come upon

685
00:46:26,200 –> 00:46:32,600
us.
And if we do, if we can, then

686
00:46:32,600 –> 00:46:38,200
maybe our lives as well might
become a parable of Christ in

687
00:46:38,200 –> 00:46:40,960
the things where we’ve sought to
display His Spirit.

688
00:46:43,120 –> 00:46:48,280
As it says in one of our hymns.
How few receive with cordial

689
00:46:48,280 –> 00:46:50,360
faith the tidings which we
bring.

690
00:46:51,600 –> 00:46:55,360
How few have seen the arm
revealed of heaven’s anointed

691
00:46:55,360 –> 00:46:59,120
king.
Yet, saith the Lord, my pleasure

692
00:46:59,120 –> 00:47:05,360
still shall prosper in his hand.
His shall a numerous offspring

693
00:47:05,360 –> 00:47:38,360
be, and still his honour stand.
Brother Roger, on behalf of your

694
00:47:38,360 –> 00:47:41,120
brothers and sisters and the
young people here at the Bible

695
00:47:41,120 –> 00:47:44,840
School, we’d like to extend our
thanks for the time and effort

696
00:47:44,920 –> 00:47:48,000
of this week and the studies
that have gone on before here.

697
00:47:48,000 –> 00:47:50,960
Obviously, the hours of Bible
study that you’ve been able to

698
00:47:50,960 –> 00:47:55,120
share with us the power of God’s
Word and the crisis of Hezekiah

699
00:47:55,240 –> 00:47:58,800
and how it leads right into the
salvation that has been provided

700
00:47:58,800 –> 00:48:00,880
through Christ.
So we’d like to thank you and

701
00:48:00,880 –> 00:48:04,640
Sister Pauline Guy will be with
you and your continued journeys.

702
00:48:04,920 –> 00:48:05,560
Thank.
You.